booksSaturday, June 20, 2026
Today's book news is dominated by AI-generated content encroaching on publishing, from chatbots inventing a fictional lighthouse keeper to a book on AI truth that was itself full of AI-made-up quotes. The irony is thick, and the industry is starting to push back.
Two stories today show how AI is both creating and corrupting book content, often in the same breath.
Multiple outlets are covering the 'Elias Thorne' phenomenon, a fictional character that LLMs keep inventing, which has now spread to Amazon books and YouTube. It's a weird case study in how AI-generated content can take on a life of its own.
The irony practically writes itself: a book about truth in the age of AI was found to contain quotes fabricated by AI. The author admitted the issue, but the damage to credibility is done.
Granta has stopped publishing Commonwealth short story prize winners after one entry was accused of being AI-generated. It's a concrete sign that literary institutions are starting to take AI contamination seriously.
Beyond AI-generated fakes, old-fashioned plagiarism and unauthorized use of authors' work continue to surface.
A marketing agency republished John Koenig's 'Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows' in full, replacing original art with AI imagery and adding AI-generated words. The unauthorized site now outranks the real one in search results.
A new book on the American adoption system centers birth mothers' experiences, revealing coercion and a system that often fails them. It challenges the rosy narrative around adoption.
Usagi Yojimbo: Kaitō '84 #4 Preview: Trial by Errorbleedingcool.com
The University as Giant App | Los Angeles Review of Bookslareviewofbooks.org
Disappearing Scrapbooks | Los Angeles Review of Bookslareviewofbooks.org
Bizarro: Year None #2 Preview: Backward Planet, Forward Problemsbleedingcool.com
Jonathan Haidt's Anti-Social Media Crusade Marred By Bad Sciencereason.com
How Do Academics Handle Conspiracy Theorists?contingentmagazine.orgThe Doomers Who Insist AI Will Kill Us Allwww.wired.com
This article profiles AI extinction theorists Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, who argue that superhuman AI will inevitably kill all humans. The author portrays them as self-appointed Cassandras spreading a deeply pessimistic message, and critiques their proposed solutions as u
What Jack Kerouac Left Behindnewyorkermag.visitlink.me
Joyce Johnson recounts her intimate relationship with Jack Kerouac, whom she met on a blind date in New York just before he published "On the Road." The article explores Kerouac's legacy through personal artifacts, including an ashtray with his ashes from the day he died, and ref
The Midnight Sons Return in Marvel's Critically Acclaimed Marc Spector: Moon Knight Seriesbit.ly
Writer Jed MacKay is reviving the fan-favorite supernatural superhero team the Midnight Sons in Marc Spector: Moon Knight #8, due out in September. The new lineup includes Blade, Ghost Rider, and other supernatural heroes. MacKay's run on Moon Knight has been critically acclaimed
Read The Velvet Water :: Chapter Forty-Three - Sleeping | Tapas Communitytapas.io
A chapter from a fantasy serialized story titled "The Velvet Water" where the character Delph wakes with a headache in a new location. Lyre and Hen discuss their temporary shelter — the Witling Woman's house — which Lyre discovered during a visit to the village. The chapter conti
James Bradley Dies: ‘Flags Of Our Fathers’ Co-Author Was 72deadline.com
James Bradley, author of the bestselling nonfiction book "Flags Of Our Fathers" about his father's role in the iconic WWII Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph, died June 5 at age 72. The book was adapted into a 2006 Clint Eastwood film. Bradley passed away in Antigo, Wisconsin, surr
Disability by David Turner review – a revelatory new historywww.theguardian.com
David Turner's new book "Disability" offers a revelatory history of disability in the UK, tracing the struggle for rights from the 17th century to the present day. The review highlights how the book presents two seemingly contradictory truths: that little has changed for disabled
James Baldwin, The Art of Fiction No. 78buff.ly
An interview with James Baldwin conducted in Paris and London, exploring his life as a writer, his relationship with America, and his literary career. Baldwin discusses his early years in Paris where he wrote his first two novels and collection of essays, and how the city helped
Book RePort opens in Port Washingtonwww.newsday.com
Book RePort, a new independent bookstore and community gathering space, has opened in Port Washington, New York, co-owned by former teachers Mara Silverstein (56) and Kathleen Schechter (48). The store fills the void left by the closure of Dolphin Books in 2022 after 76 years of
Two Lives by Daisy Hildyardbuff.ly
A man named Bruce rushes to catch a train from Peterborough to London. After settling in, he discovers an unused train ticket from 2006 (over three years old) inside an envelope addressed to a city council department. The narrative hints at a complex relationship between Bruce an
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